Stalemate continues in Wissahickon union contract negotiations

Contract negotiations between the Wissahickon Education Alliance (Support) union and the Wissahickon School District remain stalled despite the fact that the original contract expired June 30, 2012. Meanwhile, the contract for the Wissahickon Education Alliance (Professional), the union for the district’s teachers, is set to expire June 30, 2013.

The district is now facing two expired contracts and the possibility of work stoppage and a delayed opening.

In October, the union planned to strike after the board rejected a final plea to reconsider a third-party, fact-finding report regarding terms for a new contract. The two sides then agreed to come back to the table and the WEA (Support) canceled the strike for a 45-day “cooling off period,” which allowed for further discussions. Talks continued through February, but so far no deal has been reached.

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According to WEA Co-President Ann Marie McDowell, the “threat of subcontracting has become a reality for our members.”

During the Oct. 23 school board meeting, the board issued a statement regarding its intention to solicit proposals to subcontract vendors. The statement said the district has been “sustaining challenges to its economic sustainability,” noting it paid more for health benefits and retirement benefits “in order to fund the state’s underfunded retirement system.” The board said a the time that the benefits exceed those taxpayers receive working non-governmental jobs and said support staff union members who work four hours a day are eligible for health benefits.

McDowell wrote in an email that the school board has hired General Healthcare Resources, a health-care staffing agency, and no longer retains substitutes as employees in the special education department.

Cathy Rossi, district personnel director, confirmed the district uses General Healthcare Resources for substitute support positions but declined further comment regarding district negotiations.

“These are $12-per-hour employees, with no background in education required,” she wrote. “The state requires an associate’s degree or higher for long-term positions, as well has 20 additional professional development hours per year. We are having difficulty confirming if the agency is requiring that their employees be held to the same standard.”

She wrote the union was recently informed by the district that no work will be offered to union paraeducators (teachers’ assistants) for extended school year positions.

According to the district, unless a contract is signed, it will use the agency to fill positions, she wrote. In response, she said the union will be filing an unfair labor practice.

District chief negotiator Jeffrey Sultanik said while the district has used an outside agency to assist in filling one or two of its vacant positions, no final decision has been reached whether it will do so for all vacancies.

“If the implication is that we will only hire contractors to fill positions, that decision hasn’t been made,” Sultanik said.

Sultanik said a number of health-care businesses are employed by school districts in the region to provide support aides for students, particularly for students with special needs. He said it was “not particular to Wissahickon,” mentioning the company Delta-T group as another business that works closely with local school districts.

He said up until this point no agreement has been reached between the two sides, but a meeting between the newly appointed Uniserv representative, Greg Moll, the district and a state mediator is scheduled to take place April 9. Uniserv is a national organization that works with the National Education Association to help unions negotiate contracts.

Sultanik said the only concession the WEA (Support) has made is that it has given up on the threat of strike.

McDowell wrote she believed work considered additional work outside of yearly contracts, referring to summer school, is still work that belongs to bargaining unit members.

She said the board has not considered the children, parents and taxpayers of the community in makingits decisions.

“There is still a compromise in front of board that they can accept, anytime they are ready,” she wrote.